It can be hard to find sustainable women’s clothing brands that are actually sustainable. Every other day an overzealous fast fashion brand will produce one organic cotton tee and deem themselves sustainable.
In addition to all the greenwashing, when searching for the best sustainable women’s clothing brands, often another dilemma arises. How can you dress sustainably when “backpacking hiker” isn’t your personal style? Well, I’ve got you covered. My sustainable shopping list features brands that range in style from chic athleisure to fashion-forward fits.
Hot Take: Best Sustainable Women’s Clothing Brands
- Best Sustainable Luxury Brand: Mara Hoffman
- Best Sustainable Moderately Priced Brand: Reformation
- Best Sustainable Affordable Brand: Levi’s
- Best Sustainable Plus Size Brand: Mayes NYC
- Best Sustainable Petite Brand: Eileen Fisher
- Best Overall: I chose Reformation for being moderately priced, featuring a wide range of products, and offering petite and plus sizes.
How I Chose the Top Sustainable Women’s Clothing Brands
Fortunately, I’ve been able to find the best sustainable women’s fashion brands. According to Good On You, the brands I’ve featured below have environmental ratings from “It’s a Start” to “Great”. Note that this could mean they:
- Use organic materials
- Recycle materials
- Produce zero chemical waste
- Limit water usage
- Promote reusing or recycling their products
- Ensure their workers are earning a living wage
- Monitor their supply chain for ethics or human rights violations
- Employ a combination of some or all of the above strategies to enhance the sustainability of their brand
If no rating was available for a particular fashion brand, I researched supply chains and sustainability policies. Ready to shop for the best sustainable women’s fashion brands? See my picks below.
Best Luxury Brands for Sustainable Women’s Clothing
These brands typically sell items that are over $500. We’ll call this the luxury category.
Stella McCartney
The original sustainable fashion brand, Stella McCartney has an excellent track record for her environmental policies and vegan handbags. It has a “good” environmental rating for its use of eco-friendly materials and good policies to monitor its suppliers.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Saks Off 5th
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: Fashionphile
- Price: $$$
Mara Hoffman
Mara Hoffman’s environmental rating is “great”. They primarily use eco-friendly materials, including recycled materials. They also use compostable packaging.
- Environmental Rating: Great
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Neiman Marcus
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: Rent The Runway, The Real Real
- Price: $$$
Mayes NYC
This NYC-based fashion brand caters to fashion-loving, plus-size women. Their sustainably produced, luxe materials have earned them a good sustainability rating.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Neiman Marcus, Mayes NYC
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: N/A
- Price: $$$
Gucci
One of the most popular luxury fashion houses in the world, Gucci has good policies to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, most of its supply chain is certified by Social Accountability International.
- Environmental Rating: It’s a start
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Bloomingdale’s, Saks Off 5th
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: Fashionphile
- Price: $$$
Bottega Veneta
This luxury brand, known for its intricate weaving techniques, is also dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It also has policies in place to reduce its chemical waste during the leather tanning process.
- Environmental Rating: It’s a start
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Bloomingdale’s, Saks Off 5th
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: Fashionphile
- Price: $$$
Bondi Born
Offering casual summer clothing and swimwear, this completely vegan line is a favorite among eco-conscious beach babes everywhere.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Neiman Marcus
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: The Real Real
- Price: $$$
Note: Purchasing luxury items secondhand can be risky. Unfortunately, there are many replicas on the market. If you buy preloved luxury pieces, choose retailers that have a thorough return policy that favors the consumer.
Best Mid-Price Brands for Sustainable Women’s Clothing
These sustainable fashion brands sell garments that are typically between $100-$500.
Eileen Fisher
Eileen Fisher has good policies on circularity and using eco-friendly materials. Additionally, they offer petite and extended sizing for many of their pieces.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? Yes
- Where to Buy: Bloomingdale’s
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: The Real Real
- Price: $$
Misha Nonoo
Their made-to-order clothing ensures minimal waste and an ethically responsible supply chain. Since this clothing is freshly custom-made, it will take up to ten days to receive your order.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? Yes
- Where to Buy: Misha Nonoo
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: The Real Real
- Price: $$
Adidas by Stella McCartney
Adidas by Stella McCartney has a “good” rating. It uses lower-impact materials and has good policies to monitor its suppliers.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Bloomingdale’s
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: N/A
- Price: $$
Reformation
Reformation is rated “good” for using lower-impact materials. It has good policies to monitor its suppliers. They also offer inclusive sizing for petite and plus size women.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? Yes
- Where to Buy: Reformation, Nordstrom
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: The Real Real
- Price: $$
Girlfriend Collective
For chic athletic apparel that’s long-lasting, turn to Girlfriend Collective. Their high-quality pieces are made from recycled materials.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Bloomingdale’s
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: The Real Real
- Price: $$
Christy Dawn
This earth-friendly fashion company even does sustainable bridal gowns! They offer petite sizes too. And yes, they do plus sizes too.
- Environmental Rating: Great
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? Yes
- Where to Buy: Christy Dawn
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: The Real Real
- Price: $$
Veronica Beard
Offering excellent quality in women’s blazers and dresses, Veronica Beard is a fashion favorite for a reason. The brand often uses recycled and sustainable materials too. In fact, I included a Veronica Beard piece in my post on the best long sleeve dresses.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: Rent the Runway, The Real Real
- Price: $$
Best Affordable Sustainable Women’s Clothing Brands
These budget-friendly fashion brands feature many sustainable clothing items that are below $100.
Happy Earth Apparel
Happy Earth has a “good” environmental rating. They’re an “earth-first” clothing brand that seeks to give back.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Happy Earth Apparel
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: N/A
- Price: $
Outerknown
One of the most sustainable options, Outerknown, has a resale category on its website. Buying secondhand from an earth-friendly brand? It’s truly one of the most environmentally friendly ways to shop online.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Outerknown
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: Outerworn
- Price: $
Tentree
A favorite of Oprah, this is an affordable brand for casual clothing. They also have their own online consignment store if you’re looking for the most sustainable shopping options.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: TenTree
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: Circularity by TenTree
- Price: $
Levi’s
Personally, I was surprised to learn Levi’s has decent sustainability standards. They’ve met the criteria for zero discharge of hazardous waste chemicals.
- Environmental Rating: It’s a start.
- Plus Sizes? Yes
- Petite Sizes? Yes
- Where to Buy: Bloomingdales, Macy’s, Target
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: The Real Real
- Price: $
Groceries Apparel
This LA-based apparel company offers its customers complete transparency. They use organic cotton and vegetable dye to ensure zero chemical waste during their manufacturing process.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Groceries Apparel
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: N/A
- Price: $
Amour Vert
This sustainable fashion brand creates chic closet staples for a timeless wardrobe. Amour Vert uses low-impact materials that help limit the chemicals, water, and wastewater in its supply chain. Additionally, they also have pre-loved items available on their site.
- Environmental Rating: Good
- Plus Sizes? No
- Petite Sizes? No
- Where to Buy: Amour Vert
- Where to Purchase Secondhand: ReAmour
- Price: $
Best Plus Size Sustainable Women’s Clothing Brands
Many of the brands above offer their sustainable clothing in plus sizes. Below is the list of plus-size sustainable fashion brands I recommend to my clients:
- Eileen Fisher $$
- Misha Nonoo $$$
- Mayes NYC $$$
- Reformation $$
- Veronica Beard $$
- Girlfriend Collective $$
- Christy Dawn $$
- Levi’s $
Best Petite Sustainable Women’s Clothing Brands
The clothing brands below offer petite or short sizes in many of their product offerings.
Final Thoughts on Sustainable Women’s Clothing Brands
While it’s great to know about the best sustainable women’s clothing brands, remember you can make any brand a little more sustainable. The longer you wear your clothing, the better you care for it, the longer it stays out of the landfill.
Further, anything you buy secondhand is inherently more sustainable. Did you know you can buy preloved items from Saks Off 5th?! My mind was blown!
You can also read my post on how to shop sustainably here. I encourage you to keep consciously shopping with sustainability in mind. Also, I recommend committing to a functional wardrobe with high-quality pieces. Need extra help? Consider hiring a personal stylist. This ensures you can always dress in a sustainable way. And you’ll look great doing it!
